Disney's Animal Kingdom » Disneys Animal Kingdom

Disney's Animal Kingdom
17-11-2007

First off, I know some people don't really consider this to be a true zoo, but I haven't visited since 2000, so I can't remember that much about it.

- What species does the park contain and what social structures are they exhibited in?

- What're the exhibits like?

- Are the animals well cared for?

- Have they had any breeding successes?

17-11-2007

I also visited the park in 2000 and i would certainly class it as a zoo/safari park within a themepark, highlights for me were the asian area with Komodo dragon, Malayan tapir, Burmese brow antlered deer, tiger and Malayan giant fruit bat and a walk through aviary. The drive round safari was good although i would have preferred an area to walk round at your own pace rather than racing past the animals in some pseudo chase for elephant poachers, highlights of the safari are Black and white rhino, African elephant, common hippo, Nile crocodile, Okapi, bongo, nyala, mhorr gazelle, cheetah, lion and many other typical safari species.
The final area i would like to mention is the Pangani rainforest a large walk around area which included Okapi, black duiker, gerenuk, Guenthers dik-dik, meerkat, marabou stork, common hippo, and two groups of lowland gorilla, for me this was the best part of the park.
Scattered around the park were saddlebilled stork, giant totoise, American crocodile, giant anteater and various other birds.

19-11-2007

I've added a new category to the photo gallery and uploaded some photos from my trip there in early 2005.

http://www.zoobeat.com/gallery/showgallery.php/cat/556

I was actually reasonably impressed - it is pretty corny, but they have some decent displays and have a strong conservation message.

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06-12-2007

The exhibits by and large, are AMAZING. It's what most zoos wish they could do if they had the money. The animals appear to be quite well cared for. Disney has been very careful from the beginning to make their animal care practices transparent. They have had much breeding success. They have had 3 African elephant calves successfully born and also have had success with southern white rhinos, giraffes, and many antelope species.
The animals are exhibited in 5 sections of the park , The Oasis, Discovery Island, Dinoland USA, Africa and Asia. The Africa section contains a safari ride that is approx. 100 acres in size. They have large mixed herds of various antelope, ankole cattle, giraffes, elephants, mandrills, rhinoceros, lions, cheetahs, hippos, and Nile crocodiles to name a few. There is little sign of any visible barriers between the various species (though obviously they do exist). The Africa section also contains a walking trail with exhibits for gorillas, okapis, hippos and a walk-through aviary. The Asia section has a walking tour through an Indianesque palace that has been "reclaimed by the jungle". Species seen along this trail include tapirs, tigers, Komodo dragons, Eld's deer, banteng, a walk-through aviary, and a walk-through flying fox exhibit. The other animals are displayed in exhibits tucked into the scenery in the other 3 lands. The barriers are unobtrusive and most vistas just appear to the average guest that their are free roaming animals all over. Overall, I have a VERY high opinion of the place.

06-12-2007

i dunno how much of its fiberglass and concrete but the landscaping looks amazing from the photos, i'll give them that. teh safari landscpae truly looks like africa and the elephants live in what appears to be a barrier free but lush green environment. how they achieved this i have no idea?!!!

hidden hotwires?

06-12-2007

From what I understand it's a combination of some hotwire and an army of horticulturists who replant on a constant basis.

21-02-2008

I visited twice in 2005 and I was very impressed with their enclosure designs. I am from Australia and the zoos here have a very limited range of African animals, so to see warthogs, sable antelopes, gazelles, springboks, okapis...it was incredible. I have never been to Africa but their landscaping is so well done that it's exactly how the landscape of Africa would look like. The elephants are displayed on the other side of a river bank with no visible barriers, but obviously they cannot escape due to the steep river bank on the visitors side. The enclosure for the grenuk and meerkats is also well designed, the meerkats live on the steep slope of the enclosure and the antelopes live on the top with the maribou storks. The enclosure for the lions appears to be of a small space, but that could be wrong.

The theming is incredible, especially in the Asia section. Enclosure for the gibbons is stunning, built on an island containing an old temple with scaffolding all round it and a rope leading to towers off the island which the gibbons cannot climb down from. The only negative aspect is the tapir enclosure which is small and hilly and the tapir did not appear to be enjoying living in there.

There are also many enclosures housing small species such as lemurs and turtles in the Oasis area. This place is definitely worth a visit, their main focus is on African wildlife but they have an amazingly diverse range and it is spectacular to see their overall design.

23-02-2008

alot of the WDW complex in Florida has had the landscaping and horticulture done many years before the actual attraction opened to the public .
Even before Walt Disney World opened , they made sure that there was natural drainage and vegetation of the highest ecological order ( mainly to avoid flooding or other natural disasters from causing chaos ) A huge area is just left as natural woodlands .
No doubt this would have been the same with the Wild Animal Park .
Disney also made sure there was QUALITY in his creation of Disneyland , and this has continued throughout all the theme parks .....

23-02-2008

I read a book about the creation of this place (a disney book) in the Chester Zoo library. It is quite a good read and it explained how the designs came to fruition, how the exhibits were constructed, how the species lists were drawn up etc. Apparently they had to reject spotted hyenas, which I felt was an odd move considering that they play a major part in the lion king.

It also mentions some of the early animal stories such as the rhino which died due to eating a very sharp stick and then the gorilla birth.

The book also had some great photos and concept plans of the park.

24-02-2008

What book is this? Sounds good

24-02-2008

Ashley-h:

I've forgotten the title, but it looked like an official Disney book detailing the story. I'll try to look for the title...

24-02-2008

Thanks a lot

24-02-2008

It's called the 'Making of Disney's Animal Kingdom' by Melody Malmberg

at least, i think that was it...

24-02-2008

Great, thanks a lot. Will be buying this lol

25-02-2008

Yes, as I understand it, they will replace a mature damaged tree as another zoo might consider replacing a damaged shrub. They think BIG, have created back-up facilities and staffing to accomplish what they need to.
Their browse/forage farm and operation is a wonder in itself.